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Humorous Self-Portraits Defy the 10 Commandments

By Ellyn Kail on July 24, 2014

You Shall Not Take The Lord’s Name In Vain

You Shall Not Kill

For 10 Commandments, New York City-based photographer Anna Friemoth transforms herself into a well-rounded sinner, violating one biblical decree for each meticulously constructed frame. Placing the ancient subject within a modern context, Friemoth continues in the vein of great female self-portraitists like Cindy Sherman while maintaining her own distinctive aesthetic. Throughout the work, she is at once the same person and ten individual persons, each with her own mischievous desires.

Instead of obscuring her identity, playing the role of these headstrong vixens affords the artist deeper insight into her own vision, granting her total control over the composition of each image. Here, we see contemporary character tropes emerge within a set of commandments recorded thousands of years ago: the diva, the party animal, the fashionista. Though implicated in various wrongdoings, our heroine is unfailingly witty and endearing, and in this delightfully flamboyant time capsule, we recognize the devious souls of our modern era, for better or for worse.

Anna_Friemoth_02 You Shall Not Make For Yourself Any Graven Image